Date of Award

2-7-2008

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education (MAE)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Mary Jacobson

Second Advisor

Patsy Mogush

Third Advisor

Wendy Siegel

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the impact that dogs have with students that struggle with reading. Several programs have been implemented where students spend time reading books to dogs. During these reading sessions, students tend to be more relaxed and confident with their reading. For this thesis, the researcher collected evidence from six students to assess if reading to a dog assists student's reading achievement. Three students met with the researcher for sixteen weeks and worked on their reading skills. The other three students worked with a dog-reading team. Research was collected by using reading assessments, field notes, interviews, and questionnaires. After the sixteen weeks had passed, the researcher found that the students that met with the dog-reading team had slightly higher assessment scores than the other students. In addition to the reading scores, the dog-reading students had higher self-confidence and had gained a love for reading.

Identifier

SC 11.MAE.2008.Heyer.J

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